People have asked me why we’re not more emotional,” Matheny said in his office after Sunday’s game. “They say that we look subdued, always intense. That our actions are methodical, robotic at times. That’s what got us here. This isn’t the time to change it.”

It’s hard to argue with the manager’s assessment. The Cardinals finished with 97 victories, most by a Cards team since 2005, and tied with Boston for No. 1 in the majors this year.

Their 54-27 showing at Busch Stadium matches the 1985 team for the best single-season home winning percentage (.667) by the Cardinals since 1944.

A postseason theme has emerged, and it echoes the mantra that surfaced before the start of 2013: remember the fall of 2012. Remember falling to San Francisco in the NLCS.

The Cardinals’ veterans still haven’t forgotten. They still aren’t over it. It’s why Matheny resists GM John Mozeliak’s urgings to smile and put on a happier face.

Here's the most impressive aspect of the Cardinals' division championship: they prevailed over two other outstanding teams, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.

The 97-win Cardinals were better this year (regular season) than they were in 2011, when they won 90 games, and 2012, when they won 88.
Here are a few numbers that help put the Cardinals' Central title and No. 1 NL seed in perspective:

* Since MLB switched to a three-division format in each league in 1994, this was only the sixth time that a division had three 90-plus win teams. St. Louis won 97, Pittsburgh 94, and Cincinnati 90.
* Since the format change, this was only the second time that an NL division had three 90-win teams. In 2002 the NL West had Arizona (98 wins), San Francisco (95) and Los Angeles (92).
* The 2013 Cardinals faced more esteemed and difficult competition at the top of the division than any of the division-winning teams managed by Tony La Russa.

The Pirates were hardly pushovers; the Cardinals had to work like mad and kick in with a strong finish to put the division away, and didn't clinch until Game No. 160.

The Cardinals went 9-10 against Pittsburgh this season and were 11-8 vs. Cincinnati.

The Cardinals won only three of 10 games at PNC Park in Pittsburgh and split the 10 games at Cincinnati. The Cardinals were 6-3 against both teams at Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals (1st), Pirates (3rd) and Reds (5th) ranked among the top five in wins in the NL. The three teams were among the top 11 in wins in MLB. All three teams finished in the top five in the majors for best overall ERA, and each were in the top five MLB for best starting-pitching ERA.

The original purpose to this piece was to point out that the Cardinals managed to finish with the league's best record while competing in a division that had three 90-win teams for only the second time in the last 19 years of National League baseball.

I'm not sure Oscar has the power that Vladdy has...afterall, I'm pretty sure Vladdy was 'enhanced' during his peak power years. And really, I don't see Oscar being the base-stealer that Vlad was during his peak either.

Maybe Chase Utley? But I think Tavares is a more aggressive hitter than Utley; probably won't have the OBP that he had. Maybe Bernie Williams? But again, Bernie drew a ton of walks.

Really, if you combine Bernie's batted ball profile with Torii Hunter's aggressive approach, I think you have Oscar. But a lot of those guys I'm a little reluctant to compare him to started drawing more walks as they got a little older, so maybe that's in store for Tavares as well. If he ever really refines his eye, he could easily be a Bernie Williams or Bobby Abreu type hitter.

Let's just compare him to All-Stars right now. We'll worry about comparing him to HOFers when he gets his 1000th hit or so...

I try not to get my hopes too high, the last Cards prospect with this much hype was probably J.D. Drew, and he turned out to be good, not great.

I don't remember Drew being the 3rd best prospect or higher in baseball right before he hit the majors. Wen have had our share of flops but every team does.

Not sure where he ranked, but he was hyped for nothing else because he spurned the Phillies; as we all know, dissing an east coast team like the Phillies is a mortal sin, punishable by having batteries thrown at you at Veterans Stadium.

Rumors are that the Cards have scheduled a 1:30 press conference to announce that Carpenter is retiring.

I guess you defer to the guy that just decided he didn't have the drive to answer the bell when pitchers and catchers report, but shit man - you couldn't have told us this several months ago? That might've been handy information to have, no?

Well that frees up some payroll, I guess. Too bad there's nobody left to sign.

Time to make a FA push for Michael Bourn and get to work on trading Holliday+ for Andrus.

Rumors are that the Cards have scheduled a 1:30 press conference to announce that Carpenter is retiring.

I guess you defer to the guy that just decided he didn't have the drive to answer the bell when pitchers and catchers report, but shit man - you couldn't have told us this several months ago? That might've been handy information to have, no?

Well that frees up some payroll, I guess. Too bad there's nobody left to sign.

Time to make a FA push for Michael Bourn and get to work on trading Holliday+ for Andrus.

That doesn't mean they shouldn't. Holliday for Andrus would be a win/win for both squads. Though if the Rangers weren't willing to part with Andrus for Upton, they aren't going to give him up for Holliday either.

That doesn't mean they shouldn't. Holliday for Andrus would be a win/win for both squads. Though if the Rangers weren't willing to part with Andrus for Upton, they aren't going to give him up for Holliday either.

You would think with a strong a farm system as the Cards have, finding a shortstop wouldn't be so tough. We don't need an All Star just a real solid guy.

You would think with a strong a farm system as the Cards have, finding a shortstop wouldn't be so tough. We don't need an All Star just a real solid guy.

Same for 2nd base. How far out is Wong another year or more?

I'm really reluctant to get excited about Wong right now.

His hitting profile is starting to look a hell of a lot like Daniel Descalso's and Danny D has had the bat knocked out of his hands at this level. He's youngish, but he's not showing any real high-end tools down on the farm.

I'm thinking Wong is most likely to be little more than a placeholder.

EDIT: Presser had started so I just hit submit. I don't mean a placeholder, really. I mean just a decent player. He's not going to be much of a differencemaker out there, just a decent ballplayer.

"After several attempts at throwing bullpens, Carpenter informed [Moe] that he's still experiencing the same stingers, pain, etc... that he experienced last spring and that he can no longer continue to throw"

...he's to seek medical advice, etc...

"It's very unlikely that he's going to pitch for us in the 2013 season"

There isn't a ton of SS talent in the US, as there is a lot of competition for those athletes who can play it at a high level (Soccer, football, basketball, etc.) And in the Latin America countries, you're scouting guys at 15/16 and trying to project arm strength, body size, quickness as adults.

Tough row to hoe.

So is Miller probably a lock for the rotation now that Carp is gone (assuming Lohse isn't brought back now)?